Thousands of consultants now working to achieve Chartered status, one year after qualification’s launch
London consultants are increasingly seeking to certify their professional achievements by attaining Chartered Consultant status, following the launch of the professional qualification last year.
More than 3,000 consultants are currently working towards gaining Chartered status, while more than 600 have already got it, according to new figures from the Management Consultancies Association (MCA).
The news comes after the MCA and Chartered Management Institute launched the Chartered Consultant certification last year, with a view to certifying those able to demonstrate a minimum of three years’ experience as management consulting.
The launch was backed by some of the UK’s major consulting firms, including Big Four accountancy firms PwC, EY and KPMG, and consulting giants Arup and IBM Consulting.
In turn, firms that have offered their staff a route to achieving Chartered status have also benefited from better staff retention, MCA figures show.
Commenting on the news, Young MCA Chair and senior EY consultant Hassan Kamara said the “high quality” training framework provided through the MCA “accredited programme” had particularly benefited young consultants, as to seek to develop “long-term” careers in the industry.
MCA chief executive Tamsen Isacsson said widespread uptake of the Chartered Management Consultant Award (ChMC) will ensure consultancies maintain the “highest of standards” by making sure consultants are given “cutting edge” training.
“It has been a really encouraging launch year for Chartered with major announcements by some of the world’s leading consulting brands who are committed to offering all their staff ChMC,” Isacsson said.
“Maintaining the highest of standards is vital to the future of the management consultancy industry which constantly needs to keep on the cutting edge of training and development and Chartered assures clients of those standards,” the MCA boss continued.
Parliamentary Under Secretary for State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and responsible for Professional Services, Minister Lee Rowley MP, welcomed the news, as he called it a “major positive step for the industry of management consulting”.
“I am confident that this award will continue to nurture talent and provide recognition for the highest of standards in years to come,” the MP said.